Covepointcruiser

On our last cruise, the Reflection, we found Luminae to be busy and noisy.

There were also a few non parented 3-4 years old who ran around the dining room at will. This was dangerous to them and to others with hot beverages and meal ready to fall on them. Your young one won’t be a problem in Luminae but may be disturbed by the commotion. I would ask for a quiet, out of the way, table. Michaels Club may not be as good as it can be quite noisy with drunken adults and the tables are close together. If most of the Suite guests have drink packages you won’t have a problem as there are other venues for free drinks.

True for some sailings but on TA's and other repositioning cruises only Royal Suites and above gets the Go Best package

No, Royal Suites and above do not get the Go Best promotion. On transatlantic you do not get included gratuities. That is an additional $17 per person per day.

You do get the Premium Beverage Package, Unlimited Internet, and Unlimited Specialty Dining. We also received a $300 per cabin credit but I think we would have had this with any Suite.

We have sailed in both Jr Suites and Sky Suites. Similar in size but that of course depends on ship and location on the ship. Jr Suites really have near nothing in the way of perks- just larger size and dinner-only in Coastal Kitchen if the RCL ship has one. Sky Suites get multiple perks on most sailings (except trans-crossings it seems) so they are a much better value IMO. One other point- Jr Suites get 2 C&A loyalty points per night. Sky Suites get 8 CC loyalty points per night.

Sky Suites get the same perks as Celebrity Suites on trans Atlantic’s and repositioning. Unlimited drinks in Michaels Club (only closed from 12 am to 6 or so am. They also dine in the Suites restaurant Luminae for breakfast and dinner. Lunch is also served there when you are not in port. You must spent almost 6K more for a couple to be in a higher level suite (Signature, Royal, Penthouse or Reflection) to receive added benefits of Premium Beverage and unlimited Specialty Dining. Other than a larger cabin and in some an extra bathroom all other Suite perks are the same on Celebrity.

Bring any beverages you want, no restrictions except on alcohol. Two bottles of wine allowed on embarkation.

The Grand Suites are much larger on Royal. Sky Suites are Suites in name only, a bit smaller than Junior Suites. Main difference on Celebrity is they now come with all benefits of actual Suites including unlimited drinks in Michaels Club and the special Luminae Restaurant. On our current cruise, with the extended access, Michaels Club is extremely busy and noisy unlike the Suites Lounge on RCL. Celebrity’s lounge does not feel exclusive especially before dinner.

Have been enjoying your posts as we leave Saturday on the Silhouette transatlantic from Civitavecchia. Was wondering if you happened to know what free movies are currently being on cabin tv's.

 

Thanks!:)

Just posted this on the Solstice thread, listed every free on demand movie available on the Reflection.

At breakfast you can also get Vi (until they run out) and tomato juice. I have also gotten grapefruit juice. Some of the teas available are not actually black or green tea but are herbal so they contain no caffeine.

If you don’t have or want a drink package, you may want to bring some of the single serve drink mixes i.e., the powdered kind or the small liquid containers.

We are on th Reflection transatlantic. They don’t have as many free on-demand movies as they had in earlier years. Here they are: Alive and Kicking, Alone in Berlin, Kong:Skull Island, Life, Maudie, T2:Trainspotting, The resurrection of Gavin Stone, The Space Between Us, Trip to Spain, Wakefield, Dean, Free Fire, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, The Fate of the Furious, The Lovers, and the Promise.

Have a great crossing, we will be on that one next year.

Glad you explained how much you spend on Celebrity each year. We have roughly the same number of points but we only cruise Celebrity once a year but in a nice suite. We appreciate Celebrity for its differences from Cunard and Seabourn. Not using the speakers in our cabin to send music to our balcony is a no brainer as there are cabins on all sides who may want quiet. On a ship you are living with many folks of many nationalities, best to be considerate to all. Florida residents are the majority on this cruise to Fort Lauderdale. Most (99.99%) are considerate of each other and of the crew. It is a happy ship!

It doesn't matter whether the dining rooms are close together, but whether the kitchens are. On M-class all three kitchens are adjacent, so Luminae waiters can easily pick up something from any of the three. I haven't had a galley tour on S-class so don't know how that works.

We were on a galley tour yesterday. If you are in Luminae, and :(you give them 24 hours notice, they can prepare food from other restaurants. Note the 24 hour before hand notice. Items from the MDR menu may be less trouble for your waiter, but unless you order in advance, they may not be as hot or as good as they could be. Luminae does have an independent kitchen.

We are currently on the Reflection as is the first poster. I have a comment about the loud music on the balconies, not likely her music.

On one sail away, the cabin above us, Penthouse, opened their door to their balcony and played 40’s band music all through the sail away. This was six or seven songs. No one in the vicinity could enjoy the sail away.

We did not complain but many others did, according to the butler. The gentlemen on the next balcony uses Bluetooth earphones and disturbs no one.

With the sound of waves and wind, if you can hear your music so can seven or eight other cabins in your vicinity. Best to use some type of headphone and to be considerate as others may also want to enjoy their balconies. Being considerate of others is the key.

Don’t know about the one in the Persian Gardens but there is definitely one in the womens changing room by the spa and it is free. Just asked my husband and he doesn’t know about the one in the men’s locker room. So to answer your question there are at least two saunas, one free.

Do you now get free laundry for elite level? I thought it was limited to one bag per person, just wash and fold. Does this regularly cost $190or 95per bag.

Before we were Elite Plus we would wait until they had an “ you can stuff” bag for $50. The per piece laundry is expensive but includes pressing.

We did this on our last Summit cruise in Aug and kind of got black bald by the MC Conciege and Butler, because we did not go to them first. He was the worst that we have ever had in a suite. Would clean our room Late morning, and we would be out of the room by 9am, he would still be in our room at 9 pm when we ate at 6pm. The room was never really clean, and he only had two suites. The concierge and butler apologized and gave us flowers and wine, but they treated us different every time we saw them. He sucked and we got ousted.

I am so surprised that your Butler had only two suites!!!

The one we have has 11suites, including the Penthouse(EXTREME HIGH MAINTENANCE} and Royal Suites on three decks. He is very good and would like to do everything for us. I will ask him why some Butlers have only two suites on the Summit.

We may not be able to bring bleach onboard but you can get the commercial strength hand sanitizers and bring them with you. Good old soap and water does a great job but isn’t handy after you use the menu or salt/pepper at the table. We are on the Reflection right now, 14 days, and the biggest problem is a cold with a hacking cough. Some of the B2B folks had it when we boarded. Most folks do not cover their mouths when they cough. We also use a spray called “Halo”. Works for 5 or 6 hours when you spray it at the back of your throat. Protects you from inhaled germs.

for the comment about Noro being self inflicted... absolutely not!!! the infected person uses tongs, touches an elevator button, pulls out a chair to sit .. so many chances to pick up the germ if we touch the same surface. Some of us have strong immune systems and are safer but many just need to tough the wrong spot. I actually pull out a chair at the buffet with my foot now.. anything I can do to avoid it

We have been successful avoided this by always using the bathrooms in our cabin, never touching railings and only eating once we have used a sanitizer before picking up the silverware and eating. This means after you have touched the menu. Also sanitize after using the salt or pepper shaker. I keep it on the table so it is easier to remember.

Both the Tuscan and the Lawn Grill are open for Lunch today the first day of the Atlantic Crossinf. I know the Lawn Grill offers an abrivated menu with burger, tuna burgers and a vege burger. Don’t know about Tuscan and the menu is not posted on the TV.

The Porch is open, as always, $30, same menu for Lunch and Dinner.

Great post. :)

I second that!! Of course being retired now that gives us more leeway.

Normally you are okay with a 11am and later flight. Exceptions being transatlantic when the ship is arriving in the US after 6 months away. The crew members must undergo a more stringent clearance. Another factor is the number of ships in port that day. If Miami is busy we have had only one customs, immigration official for US citizens and one for foreign citizens. Obviously our line was much longer. If you have to dodge storms in the Atlantic or Pacific you may have a delayed arrival. We were five hours late on one crossing.

Better to have a later flight and to relax.

We are currently on the Reflection with a balcony sheltered on both sides. We can use this comfortably every day. We have had the bump balcony that was open to the front, and we could not use it when we were sailing because of the 20 mph, at least, wind.

Our balcony has always had a sign requesting that you keep the balcony door closed. This is necessary for the ships air or heat systems. It can also prevent deaths. A few years back a Princess Ship caught fire, from a cigarette. The folks who had left personal items or towels on the balcony spread the fire across the balcony and those with the doors open spread the fire inside the ship. Two or three died, many had smoke inhalation injuries. Folks don’t always follow the smoking regulations and obviously many on cruise critic keep their balcony doors open. Best to be safe!

The patch has quite a few side effect so my husband and I only used them once. It may both of us feel fuzzy with very dry mouths. Bonnie or it’s generic equivalent is a good 24hour solution and does not make you drowsy, give you a dry mouth or impact your head although I am sure is must have some side effects. On this transatlantic I have yet to see a patch but will look around today.

The Porch [seafood plus burger), has been open every day for Lunch including Port Days. Lawn Grill was open for Wednesday at sea with a burger, tuna burger and vegetable burger option. The Porch menu is the same Lunch and Dinner and the cost is $30. This includes lobster if you want it, it’s on the seafood tower. One couple asked them to skip the mussels and add more lobster. Murano, Tuscan and Quine may open on the next 7 sea days. The Lawn Grill is having a special barbecue on the lawn tonight and tomorrow Quine is featuring Indian (Asian) food. We tried Sushi last night and the food was decent but the overflow music from the atrium made it hard to have a conversation.

There is a list of beverages in Michaels, but you can get pretty much what you want. The only exceptions are blender drinks as they don’t have one and probably would not want the noise in that small bar. It is open at 9 am or before and stays open to midnight. On the Reflection they have a wall of glass sores refrigerators where you can pick up water, beer or soft drink. They may lock it after hours. The concierge for the club is also there for several hours in the am and pm to help with dinner reservations, excursions etc. The drawback is there are no windows you can look through at least on Solstice class ships. If you are content to drink in this room beverage packages are redundant. They also serve afternoon tea in the room. There are added benefits to the Royal Suite and over in addition to Michaels Club.

We are also on board this sailing. Luckily the weather is no longer gloomy. The sun is out and we are expecting a high of 73. We have eaten at the Lawn Grill and at the Porch. The Porch is wonderful and quiet. The tower of seafood is great, no fried food, lobster, shrimp, scallops and mussels.

The Lawn Grill was also good but the meat portions are HUGE. I ordered lamp chops and received 8 or a complete rack. We passed on the flatbread appetizer but it looked great. That is what we would typically have for our entire dinner so we may go one night just to have the pizza!

Desserts there were good, we had the cheesecake and the cookie. No problems at all with small portions on this ship. So glad UKPete is posting the menus and day plans!

Thanks so much for the helpful answers to the tux mysteries. The rental expense is more than we would like to spend! Don't know if there is such a thing as a 'cheap tux' in the Rochester area (where they make Hickey Freeman suits & tuxes and have a true factory store)! But we'll see what we can find.

 

 

He already has the 'jewelry' covered. 51 years ago, my grandmother gave him my grandfather's cuff link and stud set. They are rather modest by today's standards, but I'm so pleased he'll finally be able to wear them. Also found some funny 'space' socks :D.

 

 

I have glanced at the sailing bds - once we have some of this other stuff under control, will get back to it. Wonder what percentage of the passengers are interested in the Space topic? Thank you for your welcome!

When we first began cruising my husband found inexpensive tuxes in the wedding rental stores. They also

had tux shirts and other details. He has now retired those and bought one from Brooks Brothers. The rental stores are a great place to look when you are on a budget.

Europeans tend to dress for dinner. A lightweight sport coat should not take up too much room ina suitcase. The ones sold for travel are really light and do not wrinkle. Most men will wear a sport coat on evening chic evenings. You will also see tuxes and kilts on those nights.