mrsaquashark

College chemistry. Lots of students looking to go into various health related professions.

In terms of price, your experience might be different than mine, and I really only know pricing for itineraries I've booked. However, our off season Mediterranean Viking itinerary was less expensive than our Greek Isles cruise on Azamara in July of 2015, more expensive than the Aqua Class cabin we have booked for January 2018 in the Caribbean, and less expensive than what the Sky Suite price was when I checked recently for the same Jan 2018 Silhouette itinerary before they sold out. All 3 cruises in the comparison were 7 days. However, those comparisons might be irrelevant depending on itinerary, time of year, and ports.

We also recently returned from a Viking Ocean cruise very impressed with the experience. Our review can be found here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2450125

We found the pricing to be between AquaClass on X and a balcony on Azamara, but with much better service than either. We appreciated the free excursions and often took one early morning to orient ourselves before exploring on our own. We also liked the availability of an off-season Mediterranean itinerary, as we found few crowds and very comfortable weather for touring.

After discovering Viking, DH has pretty much ruled out our sailing Azamara again, as we can bring the impending DD on X and purchase inclusive beverages and any excursions we would want, or we could leave DD home and sail Viking.

We bought our train tickets online - 5 euros each. A regional train ran from Civitavecchia to Roma Termini approximately every hour. Trenitalia has a nice website, and I got my tickets as a pdf attachment to my email that I downloaded to my phone.

For a few more Barcelona details - we prebooked our entrance to Sagrada Familia for after our included tour the day before we went, as we had heard about long lines the day before. We too discovered that they were not letting people in before their prebooked time, but we did not find the basilica crowded, and appreciated the roped off areas for prayer. We walked up to the Picasso museum and had tickets in less than 10 minutes at approximately 3PM.

In Florence we met with much of the same - we had no interest in climbing the cupola or the bell tower of the Duomo, so we simply walked up and bought tickets at the museum at about 11:30 AM, and we repeated the process at the Uffizi at about 3:45PM, although that line was about 10 minutes long.

About us: We are a couple from NYC in our early 30s and this was our 10th cruise and 5th cruise line, having previously sailed Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Azamara. I am a college professor and DH is a lawyer, so we tend to be fairly low key on vacation. Usually we like the Caribbean in winter, but we had a small stowaway this winter, so in order to avoid risks from Zika, we decided to try Viking Oceans in the Mediterranean.

Pre-cruise: We flew Delta from JFK on Friday, January 6. Flying in a day early proved to be an excellent decision, as we got out the day before a snowstorm, and many fellow passengers who flew out the next day (on the same flight from JFK) reported long delays.

We arrived in Barcelona at approximately 9:30 AM Saturday morning, collected our luggage and took a taxi to our hotel, the Hotel Casa Camper. Casa Camper had e-mailed me a week before our departure to ask for our time of arrival, and when we arrived at about 10:15AM, our room was ready. The room was one of their standard rooms with a split design - the main bedroom with bed, safe, and bathroom and then across the hall, a private sitting room with a couch, hammock, and small balcony. This split design was quite helpful for conquering jet lag, as we had some time between completing our sightseeing for the day (Boqueria Market and Picasso Museum) and any restaurants being open for dinner. If we had been in the main room, we probably would have succumbed to the temptation to nap, but we stayed in the sitting room and forcefully kept ourselves awake to make sure we went out for tapas.

Embarkation: We took a taxi to the port and arrived at about 1:00. I was unable to find our cruise line luggage tags that morning, and the porters were very nice about it, and verified our names after we gave our room number to make sure everything went smoothly. The initial line through security took a few minutes, and appeared to have stopped at one point, but after about 10 minutes we were through. The line to check in was extremely short, and the agent at the desk simply used our passport photos rather than taking new embarkation pictures. All in all, the entire process from exiting our taxi to stepping onto the ship was probably about 25 minutes. We were in a deluxe veranda on deck 3, so our room was not supposed to be ready until 2:00 PM, but we decided to check anyway, and it was ready upon our 1:30 arrival, so we dropped our carry on bags and headed to the World Cafe for lunch.

Viking Sea:

We thought the ship was very well designed. The furniture in the public spaces was very inviting and comfortable. I found myself wishing for a Sea day just to get a chance to really enjoy the ship. We liked that The Restaurant seemed to be organized into smaller alcoves rather than being a large, often cacophonous room. We did not miss the casino, and really felt the ampleness of the public areas, always able to find a spot. The retractable roof over the pool was excellent and made the pool deck very comfortable for a chilly journey.

Dining: We were very impressed with the food on Viking, and agreed that it was the best food we ever tasted on a cruise ship. DH even remarked in a restaurant upon returning home to NYC that the calamari in Manfredi’s was superior to what we were eating here on land.

We ate breakfast in the World Cafe most days, along with a few lunches, and a small pre-dinner snack the night of embarkation. DH has severe allergies to nuts and crustacean-type shellfish, and there was always someone available to show him what he could and could not eat. The eggs in the buffet were extremely fresh, with yolks that were orange rather than yellow and I took an obsessive liking to the French toast, while DH sampled the salmon at breakfast. The presence of the self serve espresso machines was much appreciated by DH, who likes to start the morning with an Americano. The service was also very attentive. By day 4, the gentleman at the smoothie station would have a glass in hand upon seeing me, and I once had to decline an offer to carry my plate and beverage to my table, as I hadn't yet found where DH was sitting. At lunchtime, there were always sandwiches of the day (different on the two sides of the buffet) as well as some hot dishes, and the gelato station. The line at the gelato station in the World Cafe is the only time the ship even felt close to being crowded.

We tried room service for breakfast one morning, and the food was not good. Eggs were cold, and oatmeal was served with nuts on it, despite our noting the allergy on the room service card. We ended up breakfasting in the World Cafe.

One day we had an optional excursion booked for noon, so we had a small lunch at Mamsen’s. DH says the gravlax was excellent, and quite comparable to what we have had on land in Stockholm. I had the roast beef and found it well seasoned and the sauce that comes with it to be very nice.

We ate in Manfredi’s the second and final nights of our cruise. The service and food were both top notch. We usually avoid Italian food at sea, thinking that we can do better here in NYC, but Manfredi’s blew away every preconceived notion we had about Italian food at sea. We loved the garlic toast in the bread basket, and I am still trying to figure out how to make it. The calamari was well executed with a delicious and unique dipping sauce, the mozzarella in the caprese salad was fresh and creamy, paired with beautiful tomatoes, DH said that the beef tartare was outstanding and our second trip to Manfredi’s was simply so he could eat it again. We both had the osso buco for our entree both trips, and the risotto was well executed, the meat perfectly seasoned and tender, and we were both appreciative of the fork stuck in the bone to enjoy the marrow.

We ate the remainder of our dinners in The Restaurant. To accommodate DH’s food allergies, a menu was delivered to our stateroom each afternoon to be returned the following morning (a solution I found more elegant than sitting there following your meal with the next day’s menu). Because of their attention to the allergy, the restaurant manager began to recognize us the second day of the voyage (he was also always in the World Cafe for breakfast) and he made sure to check in every evening to ensure we were enjoying our meal. One afternoon, DH’s menu did not get delivered, and the wait staff was extremely concerned with making sure his meal did not contain nuts or shellfish. We have said in previous reviews that we are generally very pleased with the attention to the allergy on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, and were somewhat disappointed on Azamara. I think Viking is top notch in making sure that the dining needs of all their passengers are met. The food in The Restaurant was very good, as was the service, even the evening we pretty much closed the place down.

Cabin: We had a starboard side deluxe veranda slightly aft of midship on deck 3. We found the room to be very comfortable, although I do agree that for a longer cruise, more drawer space would be nice. However, I was able to place bulky sweaters on the top shelf in the closet (which at 5’2” I could reach!) and I moved the hair dryer to one of the drawers in the bathroom, which had ample storage space. The bathroom was the best we have ever had on a cruise ship. The heated floors were quite nice on a January cruise, but you did have to turn the lights off every so often so that the bathroom didn’t become a sauna. The shower was by far the roomiest we have ever experienced on a cruise ship and the only one that we have ever both fit into at the same time! The balcony was comfortable, and we found the table size to be a nice compromise between the full size dining table on Azamara and the end table large enough for 2 glasses on Celebrity. We had requested that our minibar only have tonic water and ginger ale, although we never ended up drinking the beverages, so they never got replaced. I did eat the candy bars a few times though, and they were always replaced the next day. The stateroom attendant was friendly and efficient. One little touch that greatly impressed us - our luggage was delivered within about 2 hours of boarding and our suitcases were brought into our cabin and placed on the luggage mat on the bed for us.

Bars and lounges: Benmark in the Living Room bar was a favorite for the whole cruise. The first night, Torshavn tried to close early, and sent us down to the Living Room, and Benmark obliged, even though he was supposed to be sending people up to Torshavn! We did enjoy the house band most evenings in Torshavn, and DH enjoyed some of the more premium liquors available there. We did not really use the pool bar much (we were only on the pool deck one afternoon and I was asleep for a good part of that). The views from the Explorer’s Lounge were wonderful, and the second deck was a nice venue for our Meet and Mingle gathering, or just a bit quieter than the main lounge at other times. We did not purchase the Silver Spirits package prior to boarding because I wasn’t drinking. However, upon boarding, DH went to talk to guest services and explained the situation and he was able to purchase the package for just himself, and he says he’s glad he did! (It's great they made a sensible exception to the ‘everyone in a stateroom must get the beverage package’ policy for people on a babymoon. We know from our friends that Norwegian won't do that)

Entertainment: Like I said, the House Band in Torshavn was fun and where we ended up most nights. We also made it two of the production shows and the Beatles party. The two production shows were rather campy, but we think that there was a bit of fun, self-awareness to the campiness. The cast was quite talented, performances were good, and we found the shows an enjoyable diversion. With only one show per night, the theater got quite crowded 15 minutes prior to showtime and was rather chilly every time we were in it. We would purposely sit in one of the opened cinemas simply for the availability of blankets. We found the Beatles show really fun, and agree with others who have said that it could be longer. However, if you stuck around after the show, the House Band came on and the production cast and cruise director all took turns singing with them! You can tell that these performers (and the whole crew really) enjoy working for Viking and enjoy their jobs.

Spa: We loved the T-pool in the spa. We like to eat late anyway, so we would unwind from touring with a short visit to the spa most nights before dinner. The loungers in there were quite comfortable and the lounge in the pool itself was also very nice. DH enjoyed the cold bucket shower upon exiting the T-pool, the practice having started as a dare. The only downside is that the floor of the snow grotto is essentially ice by the evening hours, so DH didn't really go in for fear of falling.

Excursions: We took 3 included excursions, 3 optional excursions, booked one private tour, and did one port completely on our own.

Barcelona: We explored Barcelona a bit on our own the day before boarding. The night of embarkation, we took the optional Flamenco and tapas excursion. We found this excursion very enjoyable. The performance was excellent, our guide was very informative about the model village we walked through, and the food was quite good. DH found a flier for the flamenco performance, and we did a quick computation of those tickets plus guide and transportation and agreed that Viking priced this evening quite reasonably. The following day, we took the included panoramic tour of Barcelona, which showed us the Olympic sites, the Gaudi houses, and then a walking tour to the cathedral. Our guide was excellent here as well, and did not mind when we informed her that we were not taking the bus back to the ship in order to continue exploring. We rounded out the day with La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, and the Maritime Museum before catching the included Viking shuttle back to the ship. Taxi service in Barcelona is quite reasonably priced and most landmarks have a taxi line waiting nearby. Additionally, most taxis will take credit card, although for cheaper rides, the drivers prefer cash.

Toulon: We began our day with the included Panoramic Toulon tour. It was generally informative and gave us some nice photo opportunities, especially to capture the beautiful Viking Sea! That afternoon we did the optional tour to Cassis. It was pouring rain, but the sea cliffs in Cassis were still gorgeous. We were then divided into two groups for the wine tasting portion of the afternoon - one group tasted while the other group had free time. Cassis is a charming village, and I would love to return in the summer when everything is in full swing. The wine tasting was for 3 wines - 2 whites and a rose. The rose was quite nice and the provided sausage and tapenade was delicious.

Monte Carlo: We ventured to Nice on our own from Monte Carlo - walking to and from the train station. In Nice we walked the Promenade, had lunch, and visited the Chagall museum before returning to Monte Carlo.

Corsica: We took the included tour of Corsica, with photo stops at monuments of Napoleon and the bay. We then took a walking tour through the village of Ajaccio with a stop in the cathedral and through the market, which was just about to close.

Livorno: We took the optional excursion to Pisa and Lucca. There were only twelve people in our group and our guides were quite excellent. We have agreed that now that we have seen the leaning tower, we can skip Pisa for a while (although we greatly enjoyed the echo in the Baptistery) but that we would love to return to Lucca in better weather to walk the walls. The ship also provided a complimentary shuttle into the town of Livorno that day, but we did not use it.

Civitavecchia: We had booked a private tour with Italy Shore Drivers before our trip. Italy Shore Drivers was a joy to work with. We originally booked for just us, but then found another couple on board who wanted to join us and there were no problems adding them to our tour. Additionally, high winds kept us in port in Livorno for approximately 6.5 hours past our scheduled departure time, so our arrival to Civitavecchia was delayed until about 1:00 PM. Italy Shore drivers again was excellent in delaying our Vatican tickets and their commitment to making sure as much of our tour happened as possible. Additionally, all dining venues stayed open two hours late that night so that people arriving late back from Rome would still be able to keep their dining reservations. We ended up in Manfredi’s around 10:00 that night.

I will say that the ship was a bit remiss in providing information during this situation. My first indication something was amiss was at about midnight when I realized we hadn’t left Livorno. No announcements had been made at this time. When we rose early to make sure we were going to meet our driver on time and realized that the ship was still moving full speed, we did call guest relations, but they could not provide us any details about our estimated time of arrival. Approximately 45 minutes later, Heather the cruise director made an announcement about our delay, cancelling all Viking optional excursions for the day and providing information about the included Viking tour that would be available to everyone (but that we chose not to take because it was simply a bus tour with photo stops).

We elected to stick with our private tour, and I am glad we did. We had a guided tour of the Vatican with Valentina, who was excellent. Our driver, Tino, was amazing. He got us to the Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Pantheon, and a quick photo stop at the Coliseum before driving us back to the ship. We were probably the 3-7 people off the ship around 1:30 after it had been cleared and arrived back at about 9:00. We did end up having to eliminate our visit to the Coliseum because it closed early that day. We spoke to Viking and guest relations said that they could not do anything for us on board, but gave us a letter and a card for the shoreside guest services. I called them after our cruise, and the situation was resolved promptly to our satisfaction.

Overall we found that the excursions were well organized, although we think that we might appreciate more division based on activity level, like we have heard occurs on the river ships. We were generally divided into buses based on when we exited the ship. The optional excursions we found to be a good value, and we met a lot more people on these excursions than we would have through a series of private tours with just us! We found the system of Audiovoxes and chargers in the rooms to be extremely efficient, and headphones and receivers were always available for those who forgot. Another nice touch was that in addition to having an umbrella in each stateroom, they were also available at the gangway, which is convenient if you don't want to stop at your cabin after breakfast. The whole excursion operation seemed to run like a well oiled machine. And the hot towels upon returning were much appreciated.

One quick note about guest relations, they are outstanding and more of a full service concierge. On our honeymoon on Royal Caribbean, DH surprised me by ordering flowers to the cabin back in the days when ships still had florists. This has become a bit of tradition on our cruises, excepting the Baltic this summer (when we learned the florists had been eliminated, at least from Royal). The first night, he went to guest relations to ask if there was a way to order flowers on board. He was told that there was no flowers on board, but if he described what he wanted and a budget, someone would acquire a bouquet from a local florist in Barcelona. He took them up on it, and the resulting bouquet was beautiful, and our stateroom attendant always made sure they were watered. It was just a really nice little touch that went above and beyond.

Post-cruise: We disembarked quite early in Civitavecchia and got a taxi to the train station. We took a regional train to Rome before switching to a high speed train to Florence. We carried our own bags, so from exiting our cabin to being in a cab, it took approximately 7 minutes. In Florence we stayed in the Hotel Davanzati, a quaint family run hotel approximately 10 minutes walk from the Duomo and 5 minutes walk from Piazza Signoria. We then flew Air France from FLR to CDG and then back to JFK.

Overall, we loved Viking, and are trying to figure out which members of the family will take care of our impending arrival in the future so we can cruise with them again before she turns 16.

We did the Baltic on Serenade last summer and had a great time. We did fly into Stockholm 2 days before embarkation and if you could swing flying in a day or 2 early, I recommend it. But yes, I agree about needing 2 days for St. Petersburg. We did Insider Tours' Roll Like a Russian tour, and extended our stay the first night by having dinner in the city.

We love Silhouette too, but their Baltic itinerary the week we went was 12 days beginning and ending in Amsterdam, which we couldn't swing from a time off perspective. Serenade was in fine shape, we found service at the bars to be excellent and the food in the main dining room exceeded our expectations for Royal.

I was one of those younger passengers wearing my dark jeans to dinner on the January 8 sailing of the Sea, as was my husband.

Not every night, and not to Manfredi's, but a couple of the nights, we paired our dark jeans with a blouse or blouse/sweater (me) or with a tucked in polo shirt/dress shirt (him) and black shoes. We did not feel out of place or underdressed and the crew did not seem to mind.

For context - I work in a very casual field and my dark jeans take me to work as well, plus we were celebrating a forthcoming addition to our family, and I only had so many dresses that fit to bring with me!

If your husband wants to wear dark jeans that look neat with a tucked in dress shirt (and perhaps a nice leather belt too?) I think he will be fine.

Last week, DH and I booked a deluxe veranda the January 8, 2017 sailing of the Viking Sea on the Romantic Mediterranean itinerary, and I dutifully went and filled out the information forms and set up our profile in My Viking Journey.

Now I am being prompted by the website to make my wishlist - which sounds great because I love the planning process, but I know I can't book my excursions until 67 days out. However, when I go in to try to make my wishlist, the website tells me that I can't even see the excursions until 67 days out. Does this mean I'll only have 7 days to vet the excursions, add them to my wishlist, and then book them before they become available to the small number of rooms that don't get access to them before I do? If so, this seems to greatly lessen the utility of the wishlist feature.

How have others booked on Viking Ocean made use of this wishlist feature?

Peregrina,

Thanks for the tip! The port times look great.

Deirdre,

Thank you so much for your repsonse, your reviews on Azamara helped us decide to take a trip on Journey last summer and it was a wonderful experience, so when we saw you here on the Viking board, we felt pretty good about the idea of giving them a shot!

Does anyone who has done this trip have the arrival and departure times from port? Considering the January 8, 2017 sailing of the Viking Sea, and cannot find this info! Thanks so much!

From what I have gleaned from the deck plans, the only 1 level with larger balconies is 1A. A few 2D and 2C will also have larger balconies. The 1 balconies tend to be higher and more central, but higher than deck 8, those high central locations become dominated by concierge and aqua cabins.

If you are looking at an S-class ship, 2D verandas are obstructed by lifeboats and 1A verandas have oversized balconies. All of the categories in between indicate an increasingly desirable ship position between the 2 extremes. Note that none of these categories include aft balconies, which are separately classified as SV or one of the concierge categories.

We were on Silhouette for the 1/10 sailing. One night the orchestra did a big band set in Ensemble Lounge, and when I asked, was told that the new cast had arrived that day and that the new shows were being set up for the next 2 weeks!

By the way, so glad that Sirens on Summit is going!

I think whether or not a ship is "boring" is highly dependent on the crowd. We have been getting some really great fellow passengers on Celebrity in the Caribbean, and don't really think there is a difference in the nightlife excitement compared to RCI. In the Mediterranean, we tend to be too tired to care! I will confirm 1:30 for the cabins. We don't mind a small cabin, but being in NYC, we don't live in a large place either.

Celebrity is definitely our line of choice these days, as we like the service, the wonderful S class ships, and the extra little touches, but we stray when we need to for dates and itinerary.

BACKGROUND

We’re a couple in our upper-20s/early-30s, cruising with Celebrity a fourth time and on the Silhouette for our third trip. This time we were accompanied by our dear friends, also a couple in their upper-20s/early-30s. Our prior review of this itinerary from last year is available at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2153360

PRE-CRUISE

North Beach Hotel - Ft. Lauderdale - Another lovely property in the North Beach Village Hotel group. This property contains one of the restaurants for the group, so tends to be a bit busier than its sister the Aqua. We thought it was a good value and would stay again.

Transportation

We are pleased to report that Uber is widely available throughout the county, including at the airport and to and from the pier. The county still favors the traditional yellow cabs over Uber, as Uber cars are limited to specific pick up/drop off areas while the yellow cabs are given more favorable positions.

EMBARKATION

We were one of the first few on the ship when it was cleared. We were taken to the front of the line and as Aqua Class guests, boarded at approximately 10:40 AM while other passengers were seated in a waiting lounge. Cafe al Bacio was up and running, and we sat down for the first of many fabulous coffees upon boarding.

STATEROOM/AQUA CLASS

We had a starboard side A2 right near the forward elevators. This is an excellent location, under the salon, which resulted in a very quiet cabin with no view obstructions. We will talk about Blu separately. Perks we enjoyed included the lip balm, the larger toiletry bottles, and the aromatherapy diffuser, which was subtle and pleasant. Daily teas were a welcome change from water, although we understand how some people dislike these unsweetened, lightly flavored teas.

Our stateroom attendant was on the last week of his contract, and seemed to be going through the motions, doing the bare minimum. He was not as accommodating for special requests as we have experienced in the past, a notable example being his insistence that we did not want the lighter waffle robes, and getting him to provide these for this warm sailing in the Caribbean took some convincing. Additionally, even though we had our minibar cleared out, on the last night of the trip, the water we were storing in there was removed and the bar was locked, which we had not experienced in the past.

We visited the Persian Garden once during the week, and it was enjoyable, especially the aromatic dry sauna. I would visit again, but would not book Aqua based on this perk, nor would I purchase a day pass.

For us, the biggest selling point of Aqua Class was Blu. We believe this was a worthwhile upgrade, but it depends on whether you would expect to make use of Blu and the Persian Gardens, as the other benefits were not substantial.

THE SHIP

The Silhouette is our favorite ship. The location change for the Future Cruise Office, which took over the private place in the Quasar nightclub was disappointing. However, having seen the activity levels in Quasar, we understand why this was the space chosen, but we had looked forward to sitting in the private section of Quasar with our friends. If you are looking for these private areas, they are still available at the Martini Bar.

DINING

Blu - We enjoyed Blu very much, and have said that it is the best food we have ever had at sea, across 4 lines (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Azamara). We enjoyed the wide variety of proteins, especially those that I don’t cook as a matter of routine, like veal, duck, and frog legs. For someone looking for the healthful meals, a similar experience can be had through the spe meals in the main dining room, which we have done in the past. Having experienced most of the spe meals before, we enthusiastically embraced the additional options cooked in this style available in Blu. The dishes were creative, well seasoned, and nicely portioned. Additionally, the staff in Blu handled DH’s food allergies with ease. The wait staff went above and beyond on several occasions, delivering beef tournedo to a companion that wanted filet one night, and bringing up several dishes from the main dining room during Top Chef night. We had asked earlier when the Top Chef night was, and they told us the day, and said that if we looked at that menu before coming to Blu, they could bring us any item we liked from it. Also, one morning at breakfast, we asked for some vitamin water, and the waiter said that she would send someone to retrieve it at Cafe al Bacio.

Additionally, breakfast in Blu is very nice, even to people unable to order the muesli! I liked the smaller sized omelets, and the fingerling potatoes served with them were very nicely cooked and perfectly seasoned. DH enjoys mushrooms with his breakfast and was impressed by the ones offered in Blu, which are much less oily and greasy than the ones provided by room service or in the buffet.

We found the service in Blu to be exceptional all-around. We sailed Azamara over the summer and did not experience the level of service they are known for, but we finally had that expectation met in Blu on the Silhouette. Service was attentive without being stifling, the pacing of the meal was excellent, and we enjoyed the more intimate feeling of the tables meant for parties of 2 and 4, as opposed to the tables for 8 and 10 in the main dining room. We sat at several tables all over the restaurant, and all of the wait staff were exceptional and made a point to come by and say hello at subsequent meals, and also when they were working at other venues at lunchtime.

Room Service - We used room service for breakfast and lunch and found the food consistently good, and delivered all at the same time, even if this required the assistance of an additional crew member. A handwritten request for smoked salmon was fulfilled. However, for eggs, the quantity indication is ambiguous, and one morning a request for 2 poached eggs and 2 over easy eggs resulted in delivery of 4 eggs of each type - as these requests were interpreted as 2 servings of 2 eggs each! One day, DH ordered a dish from the premium room service menu, which is shown in the binder as being available from 11AM to 11PM, but we were told that since this dish came from a specialty restaurant, it would not be available until 5PM (we ordered at 345PM). This policy should be noted on that menu so that customers are aware. Also, we were told that only side salad sized Caesar salads were available through room service and a request for an entree sized salad could not be accommodated. Often, room service aboard ship tends to be inferior to other venues with inconsistent temperatures, but this was not the case here, and the food was just as good as at the other venues on the ship.

Evening Chic - Evening chic appears to be causing a bit of a divide in the Celebrity passenger base. We saw many more people dressed “down”, given the suggestion of nice jeans with a blouse or shirt, an approach we took on the second evening chic night. However, we also saw far more tuxedos and evening gowns than we have seen in the past, perhaps as a demonstration of disappointment in the changes. We enjoyed the freedom afforded us by the new evening chic policy. We try to pack light, and DH prefers to dress down on vacation, as he dresses up fairly often for work, and were happy to save the luggage space a jacket would have taken!

In Blu, the second evening chic night (Labadee) was the night with the menu that includes the warm water lobster tail. We did not find many of the dishes on this menu compelling and chose to dine in Qsine instead.

Qsine - We had dined at Qsine twice in the past, stuffing ourselves beyond capacity on both occasions in a valiant attempt to taste everything DH could eat. On this occasion, we dined with our friends, and can report that it is a much more pleasurable and less stuffing experience with a group of 4 rather than 2! Again, the service was top notch, and the food was extremely well executed, especially the painter’s filet with 3 different temperatures (rare, medium rare, and medium)! We enjoyed the relaxed pace of the experience, but if you are going to sample a good number of dishes (we tried 9 on this occasion), allow for a long dinner, as our dinner here extended for 2 hours and 45 minutes, and that was with a slightly expedited dessert when we realized we might miss the show if we didn’t tell our server we wanted to see it!

Oceanview Cafe - The Oceanview Cafe was one location on the ship where we noticed a significant difference that we believe to be a result of the pervasive beverage packages. Drink service at tables was much more limited than in the past, and drink menus have been removed from buffet tables. Il Secondo Bacio was very busy during main meal times, but several staff members were always stationed here so that the line moved quickly. However, if you wanted an espresso or mimosa with breakfast in the buffet, be prepared to go retrieve it at Il Secondo Bacio rather than have it delivered to your table.

The food was consistent with our experiences on previous cruises, and was good for buffet fare. One thing to note - while most foods containing nuts are labeled that way, mortadella was among cold cuts that were not labeled as containing nuts, an oversight that should be corrected lest someone less familiar with mortadella accidentally eat a pistachio!

BARS

Coffee - We noticed that the seating area at Cafe al Bacio is being used much more than it has in the past, likely because so many passengers are enjoying their drink packages. We went to Cafe al Bacio at least once per day this sailing, having in the past only been once during 2 sailings totaling 18 nights! The coffee at Cafe al Bacio is very good, and they will gladly prepare any of the hot drinks on the menu iced, although this can take a few minutes. Iced citrus mint tea was particularly refreshing. DH always complains about cruise ship coffee and was very happy on this sailing, starting off his morning with a double Americano.

General Bars - Quasar did not really see much use as a nightclub on this sailing, being relegated mostly to karaoke, with most dance parties taking place in the Sky Lounge. One night, we came in to observe karaoke, and there was a fairly sizeable group of people (approximately 25 people) in the lounge, when it was announced that karaoke would end in 15 minutes, even though it was listed as going until “Late”. Why shut down an activity that people are obviously still enjoying? Also, the person directing the karaoke had by this point gotten to know the most active karaoke singers, and defaulted to calling them up to sing, which we felt discouraged others from signing up to participate.

We found the availability of some liquors and mixers to be hit or miss. Diet tonic was not generally available on the ship, although a bartender at Passport Bar made a trip one evening to retrieve some, and we saw it on other occasions in the Ensemble Lounge. We spent much more time in Ensemble Lounge than we have in the past, as it was more in our path of activities. The non-specialty bars also cannot be counted on to have premium brands of liquor, a situation that likely pushes passengers with the Premium package to the Premium only Molecular and Martini Bars. Sunset Bar was an exception to this.

Molecular Bar - We love the Molecular Bar. The molecular bar on Silhouette is currently running an abbreviated menu consisting of 5 drinks you would recognize from the full menu (Lucky Cat, Dragonfly, Tanned Russian, etc.) and then a second page of approximately 10 drinks that are new. Jelena generally does not let you order drinks from this second page, and makes something similar of her own creation with a slightly different balance of the same flavors instead. If you can name any of the other classic Molecular Bar drinks, you can probably order them, with the creamy Indulgence a notable exception. I saw several cocktails throughout the week that resembled the drinks available in the past. Jelena and George can also surprise you with a delicious drink with some minimal prompting. We highly recommend spending time at the Molecular Bar with Jelena and George, as your drink will be unique and delicious. Jelena and George are the best and we hope to encounter them on future cruises.

Martini Bar - We spent very little time at the Martini Bar, preferring the service, cocktails, and atmosphere available at the Molecular Bar. On one of the occasions we did visit, only general cocktails were available to our friend with the Classic Package, and small martinis were not being offered. The curtained off alcoves with sofas are a nice place for a group to sit and enjoy a cocktail without leaning over each other at the bar.

PORTS

Cozumel - Playa Mia Resort - We repeated the same excursion from our sailing last year. Again, the buffet is not overly appealing, so be prepared for a late lunch back onboard. We find that booking with the ship affords us extra time at the Resort, as the excursion arrives before the resort officially opens. The open bar offered at Playa Mia was less valuable to us than last year because of our drink packages, and we did not really use it except for bottled water. As the resort filled up over the course of the day, the internet went down, suggesting that their system cannot handle a large number of people connecting. The beach was beautiful and waiter service is frequent. We also appreciate the included water activities, which included kayaks and paddleboats. We would visit again.

Our starboard room faced the pier, so we engaged in the practice of watching for pier runners. When sailaway time came and went, we started to wonder why we weren’t moving, and several officers could be seen in the bridge wings visibly agitated. 45 minutes after our scheduled sailaway time, a taxi pulls up to the pier and a gentleman got out and boarded the ship with little sense of urgency. We, and others, booed him vigorously. This did not affect our arrival time at Grand Cayman.

Grand Cayman - Turtle Farm - A unique experience, and a fun one! The grounds are extensive and beautiful, with several different areas to observe and interact with sea turtles at different stages of life. Snorkeling with turtles and fish in the lagoon is a highlight, but be aware that the lagoon closes at 2PM, so be sure to plan for that when planning your day at the turtle farm. Getting to catch and hold a baby sea turtle was an adventure that provided a very unique photo opportunity.

We took taxis to and from the turtle farm, having ventured there on our own. Expect the taxi to run you about $3/passenger. There is not a taxi stand at the turtle farm, so get a card from the taxi driver dropping you off so that it can pick you up, as taxis appear to be independently owned rather than centrally dispatched. Public buses also run to the turtle farm, but one of our companions travels with a wheelchair, and the bus driver wanted to charge us for an extra passenger to account for the wheelchair, so please be aware of this if it applies to you!

Falmouth, Jamaica - Hilton Rose Hall through Resort for a Day - We found that Resort for a Day is mainly a bus service provider. We followed the instructions and were sitting on a bus ready to go, but then our bus was held to allow passengers from another ship to board as well. When they found out that our return trip was leaving after theirs, we overheard these passengers planning to take the return bus intended for us and did not want to risk not having a seat, so ended up leaving the resort early in order to guarantee our timely return to port. Also, the bus just drops you off at the resort, and then you are expected to stand in a long line for check-in to get a bracelet. It seems that Resort for a Day should handle all of this for you in order to maximize the time you get to enjoy the resort. We would probably only use Resort for a Day again if there was a particular resort we wished to visit that we could not book on our own.

Hilton Rose Hall was a beautiful resort, with a narrow strip of beach that has padded loungers and crystal clear water, extensive pools, and several casual eateries. The resort seemed very busy, perhaps because of a large number of day clients, and getting a tube for use on the water slide and the lazy river was an adventure. Drinks were good, although many people were getting tri-colored frozen drinks that slowed the line at the bar down considerably. The swim up bar was completely packed the entire time we were there. DH enjoyed trying Red Stripe Light, not a beer we usually see at home, and he says it was extra cold and extra refreshing. We had lunch at the poolside grill and enjoyed a fantastic meal of jerk pork.

Labadee, Haiti - Dragon Coaster - Another experience repeated from last year. The safety briefing was much less extensive this time around, and we were slightly more confident, taking the coaster at a faster and more exhilarating pace.

Labadee, Haiti - Nellie’s Beach Cabana - We secured an over the water cabana at Nellie’s beach. This cabana has a ladder into the water, but the ladder is odd. It consists only of the metal frame one would normally expect on a ladder like this without the flat plastic steps. This makes using the ladder very slippery, especially if either the feet or the ladder are wet, as rungs are round, making it very easy for your feet to slip off. This cabana also has the loungers out in the sun all day. We were given access to the Barefoot Beach buffet for lunch, and this is one of the closer cabanas to that beach. However, we were approximately equidistant from both the Barefoot Beach and Nellie’s Beach restrooms, meaning that either restroom was a bit of a walk, something to keep in mind if anyone in your party is mobility challenged. We enjoyed the private golf cart shuttle service just for cabana guests.

We found that our cabana attendant was rude, inattentive, passive aggressive, and spent a lot of time sitting down texting on his personal cell phone. We asked for snorkel equipment, as the people in the cabana next to us had some, and it took an hour for a single mask and snorkel to be brought that was littered with sand, no vest or fins, for 4 people! He also watched us struggle carrying a wheelchair up/down to/from the cabana. Several of us were given incorrect drinks--when the attendant came around, which was rare--and told “we should enjoy them.” We heard that after we visited Labadee, there were locals protesting. We wondered if this prompted a work slowdown. We notified guest services and showed them pictures of our cabana attendant texting while we waited for drinks/snorkel equipment, and the situation was resolved promptly to our satisfaction.

We had a wonderful time in Labadee, and spent as much time as allowed out on the beach. DH was delighted to be the last passenger back on the ship before we departed to head back to Fort Lauderdale. (He timed this to be on board 1 minute before departure, so there weren’t any boos, like the person delaying the ship at Cozumel!)

ACTIVITIES

A lot of the activities were sorted into teams of port vs. starboard. We participated in 80s music trivia, and were a little disappointed that our group of 4 wouldn’t be its own team, as I am rather competitive and DH and I trust our 80s music skills to grab us a win. Compared to last year, we think one person has been added back to the activities team. However, we didn’t find many of the activities compelling, especially since we were traveling with friends, and preferred to relax in the Solarium or in one of the lounges with live music.

ENTERTAINMENT

We sailed on the week they were installing the new production shows, so we had all headliners. Even though we occasionally comment on the camp factor of the production shows, we found that we missed them! Also, we were a little disappointed in the headliner lineup for a production show-less week. There wasn’t any way to give us a top comedian and perhaps the Tenors of Rock to make up for the lack of a production show? We found that the Beatles tribute band Hard Days’ Night did a great job with the music, but we thought the vocal performance left something to be desired. Also, the 70s party was moved to the foyer due to high winds, and I think the sound team hadn’t balanced the levels for the new cast in that venue yet, leading to some strange sounding numbers at that event.

OVERALL

We found Aqua Class to be a wonderful experience, if just for Blu alone. Also, after having sailed Azamara earlier this year, we have confirmed that for the time being, Celebrity is our cruise line of choice. While onboard, we booked an Eastern Caribbean itinerary on Reflection for next winter!

That's too bad. We really enjoyed the wider variety of islands in a 7-day reach of San Juan, and an s-class ship there would definitely pique our interest, as we are unable to do the longer 10 and 11-day itineraries. And while X only keeps 1 ship there, RCI keeps 2, so I imagine X benefits from that as well, cost wise.

If Summit is being redeployed to FLL, does that mean an S-class ship will be taking over in San Juan?

9pm, excellent! Thanks so much Robin!

And we know we'll be tired, but we have pretty good experience with the push through form of dealing with jet lag, as we wouldn't have the time to take these trips otherwise! We recently managed a full day of touring in Istanbul, not getting back to our hotel until 9pm after having landed at 10am that morning, so that aspect doesn't worry me.

Well that's the beauty of the overnight, isn't it? Quite frankly, because of work schedules, and the fact that DH can't be out of the office too long, we either fly in on embarkation day or we can't go. However, if muster is the next day, a flight that arrives at noon rather than 6am gives him an extra day in the office before the trip.

The only reason we can even consider 10 days in this case is the fact that it encompasses two weekends and July 4th.

If anyone with experience with the embarkation overnight can tell their experience with the admin aspects of embarkation, I would appreciate it, as I haven't done it before.

Hi all,

DH and I are considering the 6/23/16 Baltic cruise on the Quest and I have a question about the logistics of embarkation day (in Stockholm in this case) when the ship doesn't depart until the next afternoon.

Because of the length of the cruise (10 days) we would fly in on embarkation day to explore Stockholm and give ourselves the extra day on the Copenhagen end. When would things like muster occur? I realize that muster is mandatory, so I am curious about how it is handled when some passengers might be tempted to simply drop luggage at the port and then only turn up in time to sleep.

There are two possible icelandair flights from NYC that land in Stockholm that day, and taking the later one makes the logistics of the trip more manageable for DH with the demnds of his job, but if we have to be on the ship at say 4:30pm for muster, it makes sense for us to think about the earlier flight.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

I know the big focus on the thread so far has been the deck 12 outdoor terrace (and FWIW, I think it looks like a venue DH and I would enjoy, especially in the Caribbean.)

However, I am more concerned about changes in the Solarium, specifically the thalassotherapy pool. DH and I sailed on Summit in 2/14 and while we had a wonderful time, the only compelling point of M-class vs S-class ships for us is the T pool. Are they going to keep it a T pool or make it a regular pool that from what I can tell, would require far less maintenance?

Thanks everyone for your responses. I hadn't even thought about increased Thanksgiving volume, which definitely makes the idea a bit crazier.

I normally wouldn't even consider this, we normally take the last flight of the day back in order to maximize our vacation. This cruise is kind of a spur of the moment idea (we haven't booked it yet) so I wanted to touch base with people who have experience flying out earlier in the day.

Well no, I wasn't kidding. Based on previous experiences in FLL on other ships, being one of the first people off, not having to check a bag, and expedited security, I think it might be possible. However, I have never sailed on Indy and am looking to solicit feedback and advice before deciding.

There is an 8:55 I might like to get on. I wouldn't have a bag to check. Carry-on and personal item are more than enough for me on a 4 day cruise. It's amazing how much luggage space gets freed up by not wearing heels onboard!

DH and I are considering taking the 4 night cruise to Cozumel aboard Indy that leaves on Thanksgiving. However, it does not return until Monday morning, and my job is such that if I can make it by 1pm, I don't have to take the day off.

What is the absolute earliest you would book a flight departing FLL under the circumstances? I was on that same itinerary on Liberty once, but that was over 3 years ago, and our flight was late so we didn't leave the ship with any sense of urgency. I always carry my own luggage off the ship, would not need to check luggage at the airport, and have TSA precheck. Is a 9am flight too aggressive?

Thanks for the feedback!