Shirley C

A new countdown idea for you!! ;)

My problem would be limiting myself to one a day. My willpower isn't very good. 😏

Enjoying the pics & review. Thanks again for taking the time to do it.

Shirley

I love your countdown candy idea.

Shirley

Oh wow, I'd love to do another Mediterranean cruise some day! I will have lots of photos of the ship once I get to that part of the review :)

 

 

 

I actually asked our tour guide about the weather and he said the temperatures remain fairly constant year-round because they are so close to the equator! I can't imagine living like that year round, but he said they get used to it :rolleyes:

That's probably true. I live in Arizona and we have 100+ degree temps several months out of the year. I've gotten use to that. But it's not humid here. That's what's hard for me to take in South Ametica -- that humidity is so bad.

Shirley

We loved the overnight in Cartagena! Went to dinner at a fantastic restaurant with a 7 course tasting menu. And it is almost as hot there at night as the day! Overall we thought this 3/14 cruise excellent!

I'm sorry to hear about the heat. We were there last May and it was almost unbearable. We are going in January and I was hoping the early months of the year would be much cooler -- it doesn't sound like it. 😏

Loving your review so far and looking forward to the future posts & pics. We are doing this same itinerary in January, except that our overnight is in Cozumel. It's hard waiting for the cruise to get here, so in the meantime I'll live vicariously through you.

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Shirley

When we briefly chatted to the Captain in Tuscan Grill my husband mentioned to him something I had always wanted to do but knew couldn't happen....well it did!

 

Leaving Suva will always remain my happiest cruise moment! I felt both honoured and deeply touched that the Captain would make a dream come true...

What was it you got to do?

In Costa Rica we took a tour with Oscar Brown tours. We went to the jaguar rescue center and along of the tortuguera canal and had lunch at a restaurant on playa bonita. It was a great day and it ended up being a private tour with just the two of us as nobody else from our ship book the same excursion!

Did you book directly with him?

Shirley

Thanks for taking the time to do a review & post pics. What did you do in Costa Rica?

Shirley

Thanks for posting the review & pics. We are on this same itinerary in January.

Blue Chip club is the invitational gambling club of Celebrity for those who frequently spend too much time time, money, or both in the onboard casinos.

 

 

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Thanks.

There has never been a fee for Blue Chip members and when they started enforcing it since other passengers were cashing out OBC the Blue Chip members are still exempt if you show them your card. The promo chips are a whole different discussion that make me crazy. Unless you ask them every hand they will leave the promo chips and only pay the winnings in actual chips. The fine print nowhere says there is a play through minimum on promo chips so they should be swapping the original bet for actual chips for any hands won.

 

Also, pretty decent deals on the European sailings in today's email.

 

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What is a blue chip member and how do you become one?

Thanks for sharing this info Andy. I'll be on the Summit in 2017 and will look forward to giving it a try.

Shirley

Gotcha!

Yes, the Premium pkg coverage worked great there too.

 

There is a Happy Hour where everything is half price, and the drink pkg does not work. That was when I had the $35 bomber of Rouge Double Choclate Stout, for $17.50. With the pkg it would have been $22.

Thanks. We're going to give it a try next January when we are on the Equinox.

Shirley

Sorry, no. The last 3 cruises we have had the Premium pkg. from the get go. So never paid attention except to how much over each time we spent.

 

Last cruise, 7 pages of card swipes, a final bill of $18.00. The SOM at dinner did not swipe the card every time, only at the bars.

EW

 

Maybe I did not understand your question?

My question was did you have to pay extra for drinks in Gastro Pub or was it included with premium drink package.

It's definitely nice having the package and getting a low or zero bill at the end. Our last cruise we didn't even use all our OBC credit.

Shirley

The only S-Class with a dedicated GastroBar is the Equinox. On the other 4 Cellar Masters remains and the craft beers were added to the Passport Bar along with the food choices, almost as an after thought.

 

We loved the area on the Equinox. Just across from the Martini Bar at the entrance to the Casino, it was always hard to get a seat when open.

Do you know if any of the drinks part of a beverage package?

That cooking class sounds fun. I will have to ask about that on our next cruise. A friend of ours also went to something that focused more on wine than food, although it was also held in the specialty restaurant. It was about $100 cheaper than the Chefs Table. I don't remember what it was called, but will find out and post it here. They did not get a copy of the cookbook with their event, which was the price difference I think.

 

Shirley

The other event was called the Wine Connoisseur dinner.

Shirley

Jason (Bobieque) – welcome to cruisecritic! This place has been perfect for finding answers to questions such as the ones you’ve posed.

 

My Guy and I, like you, are in our mid-40s. My Guy has done more cruising than me, but we just got back from our 4th Celebrity cruise, each in AQ. We have done the Chef’s Table on three of those cruises; the most recent was on the Silhouette. The food and experience has been excellent on each.

 

My tip: do what My Guy and I do and head straight for Murano when you board (there are maps by the elevators). Inquire about, and book, the Chef’s Table, and if you have interest in specialty dining packages, you can ask about them there. (We’ve done the Ultimate Specialty Dining Package on our last two cruises.)

 

It’s likely that you’ll have Chef Carlos Miguel Fernandes, as we did on the Silhouette in July. We asked if he would be on the Silhouette cruise at the end of December. He said that he is getting married (sometime this fall, I think), so his vacation is quickly approaching, and that he will be back in December. I liked his personality more than the other chefs that have done the Chef’s Table. He seemed very comfortable chatting with us, and he was funny, whereas some of the other chefs have been a bit nervous, or shy. The officer, Tony, that joined our group was also a bit more comfortable than other officers we’ve met at past Chef’s Table.

 

Our next cruise is over Christmas, so I don’t know if the Chef’s Table will be available, but if it is we will book it. As Shirley (Shirley C) mentioned, you get a group photo, a copy of the menu, and a copy of the Celebrity cookbook. Since we don’t need another copy of the cookbook, they were able to give me a credit, instead.

 

Also, dining in Murano one night, we were told about a cooking class, to be held in Murano’s kitchen, the next day for lunch. It was $50 a person, but we signed up without hesitation. I don’t even cook at home, so the next morning I was having serious doubts. There were a total of 5 participants. We had a blast! We prepared their Smoked Salmon and Peekytoe Crab Parfait, cooked our steaks on the grill, and we each took turns to help make the Grand Marnier Soufflé. Probably because it was something that I had a hand in making, I thought it was the best meal and experience of the trip. Our instructor, the chef of Murano, also sat down and ate with us. I don’t remember this class being advertised, but another couple in our group had heard about it, showed up for it one day (without signing up for it) to be told it had been cancelled. I would guess it is also based on interest. All that to say, I would recommend inquiring about it. I never thought I (or My Guy, especially) would ever take a cooking class, but I will be asking about it on our next cruise.

 

Enjoy your cruise in January!

That cooking class sounds fun. I will have to ask about that on our next cruise. A friend of ours also went to something that focused more on wine than food, although it was also held in the specialty restaurant. It was about $100 cheaper than the Chefs Table. I don't remember what it was called, but will find out and post it here. They did not get a copy of the cookbook with their event, which was the price difference I think.

Shirley

Thanks Shirley, I'll do that, sounds right up my alley. Really appreciate the reply!

I think you will enjoy it -- we did. There were 7 in our group plus 2 officers joined us. It was held in the private wine room of the SS United States restaurant. It really was a special evening. Everyone got a copy of the menu/wine selections and a group photo at the end of the night, as well as a copy of the Celebrity cookbook.

Shirley

We just did the Chef's Table on our recent cruise on the Infinity. I highly recommend it. It was a wonderful experience where wine was paired for each course of food. It was $300 for 2 of us. It really wasn't advertised. Ask about it when you board. Check at the desk they have set up to book specialty dining. They should know about it. We were on a 17 day cruise and they held three of them. However, it is only offered if there is enough interest. I believe there needs to be a minimum of 8 people.

Shirley

We are on two upcoming cruises. Bonaire was dropped on one cruise, and Belize was dropped from the other. We are not happy about either change as we were looking forward to visiting both these ports. We are not looking forward to being overnight in Cozumel or Curaçao.

Shirley, are you getting sad the end is in sight? Remember what you told me....we have next April to be happy about! Hope you had as wonderful a time as I did. Pam

We have had a wonderful time. Sad to see it end. I'm ready to go home, but not ready to get back to reality! It's been fun being pampered. We booked two more cruises for 2017 while onboard, but will definitely be looking forward to and planning for next April once we are home (actually, I signed Tony up for fishing trip & both of us for Bonaire tour already!). Can't wait until we actually meet!

shirley

We can confirm that they will be.

Great to hear. Will they just go back on our credit card?

On the Infinity now. Puerto Vallarta was cancelled & replaced with a sea day. Still waiting to find out if port charges for that port will be refunded.

We are currently on the Infinity. There are cases of Noro and Noro restrictions are in place - no salt & pepper on tables, no menus in Cafe Al Bacio, crew cleaning everywhere, and no touching sea pass cards - they write the number down. I think they are doing their best to prevent the spread.

Shirley